Young People's Stories

Meet Holly, she was diagnosed when she was just 20 with non-Hodgkin lymphoma

"I was diagnosed with cancer on the day I was supposed to be moving to London for university...

We'd actually already moved half of my stuff into my new flat and had to go back and get it. I had a place at University of the Arts London to Magazine Publishing and Journalism, but I've put it on hold for a few years now.

For the first few days I was kind of in shock. My friends were saying "Oh my God are you going to be ok?" And I was trying to stay positive about it.

I felt so rubbish when I was on treatment - I didn't want to meet anyone, I didn't want to get out of bed. I was feeling really weak because it just really knocks it out of you. I hadn't been on the Teenage Cancer Trust unit to begin with, I'd been on an adult ward, but I decided to go to Bristol because of the unit there. There were people from all over Devon and Cornwall who'd also chosen to be treated there.

The Teenage Cancer Trust nurses made you feel so welcome on the unit, they took the time to care and make sure you were ok and comfortable.

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Cancer sucks. We make sure young people don't face it alone. We do it by helping young people and their families deal with the many ways that cancer can screw up your body, your mind and your life. We do it in partnership with the NHS and by bringing young people together so they can support each other. And we do it from the moment cancer is diagnosed until long after treatment is over.

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